Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Decaturville’s library logs 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Decatur County Public Library serves 9,542 people in and around Decaturville. Last year it lent 10K books, movies and e-books and logged 2,643 visits.
The short version on Decaturville’s library
Decatur County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Decatur County Public Library records 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $10 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Decatur County Public Library offered 3 programs last year, 0.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Decatur County Public Library spends $10 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; Decatur County Public Library serves 9,542 people in and around Decaturville, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Decaturville’s civic life grade
Decaturville isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Decatur County Public Library serves 9,542 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Decatur County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
41% of borrowing is digital
10K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,088 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
3 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Decatur County Public Library, 20 West Market Street, Decaturville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Decatur County Public Library branch.
New in Decaturville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Decaturville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $93K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $177K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $93K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 4,469 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Decatur County Public Library serves 9,542 people in and around Decaturville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Decaturville.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Decaturville
Does Decaturville have a public library?
Yes. Decatur County Public Library, 20 West Market Street, serves 9,542 people in and around Decaturville (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Decatur County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Decaturville’s library?
It logged 0.3 visits and lent 1.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Decaturville’s civic life grade?
Decaturville isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Decaturville.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.